Three-dimensional gap measurement systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10240909-B2
Application number	US-201615295628-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2016
Priority date	Oct 17, 2016
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

An electronic feeler gauge comprises a sensor blade, a transmitting system, and a receiving system. The sensor blade comprises transmission induction coils, reception induction coils, and measurement sites, spaced in two dimensions about the sensor blade. Each of the measurement sites is associated with at least one of the transmission induction coils and at least one of the reception induction coils. The transmitting system is configured to drive direct electrical current across the transmission induction coils to produce transmitted probe signals from the transmission induction coils. The receiving system is configured to receive response signals from the reception induction coils due to the transmitted probe signals.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic feeler gauge, comprising:
a sensor blade, comprising transmission induction coils, reception induction coils, and measurement sites spaced in two dimensions about the sensor blade, wherein each of the measurement sites is associated with at least one of the transmission induction coils and at least one of the reception induction coils;
a transmitting system, configured to drive direct electrical current across the transmission induction coils to produce transmitted probe signals from the transmission induction coils; and
a receiving system, configured to receive response signals from the reception induction coils due to the transmitted probe signals.

2. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitting system comprises a current source, configured to produce the direct electrical current, driven across the transmission induction coils.

3. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitted probe signals are steady-state magnetic fields.

4. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving system is configured to generate separation distance signals based upon the response signals, wherein the separation distance signals are related to separation distances at the measurement sites of the sensor blade between a first surface of a first workpiece and a second surface of a second workpiece, wherein the receiving system is configured to receive the response signals when at least one of the measurement sites is within a gap, defined by the first surface and the second surface.

5. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein each of the transmission induction coils is individually electrically addressed by the transmitting system.

6. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitting system comprises a de-multiplexer to produce one of the transmitted probe signals at a different time than another one of the transmitted probe signals.

7. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving system comprises a multiplexer to receive one of the response signals at a different time than another one of the response signals.

8. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the reception induction coils are interdigitated with the transmission induction coils in the sensor blade.

9. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the reception induction coils and at least one of the transmission induction coils overlap in an overlap region and are separated by one or more dielectric layers in the overlap region.

10. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission induction coils and the reception induction coils are separated by one or more dielectric layers and wherein the transmission induction coils and the reception induction coils are formed on opposite sides of a single one of the one or more dielectric layers.

11. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission induction coils comprise graphene.

12. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor blade comprises exterior protection layers that cover the transmission induction coils and the reception induction coils.

13. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein each of the transmission induction coils has a lateral area of less than 1 square centimeter and greater than 100 square microns.

14. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor blade has at least 1000 of the measurement sites at a density of greater than a single one of the measurement sites per square centimeter and less than 1,000,000 of the measurement sites per square centimeter.

15. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , further comprising a computing system that is operatively coupled to the receiving system, wherein the computing system is configured to generate a 3D virtual model of a gap, probed by the sensor blade, based upon the response signals and the measurement sites.

16. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 15 , wherein the computing system is configured to identify suitable shims to be inserted into the gap by comparing dimensions of candidate shims to the 3D virtual model of the gap.

17. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 15 , wherein the computing system comprises a display and is configured to render an image of the 3D virtual model of the gap with the display.

18. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , further comprising a computing system that is operatively coupled to the receiving system, wherein the computing system is configured to determine separation distances based upon the response signals, wherein the separation distances are at the measurement sites of the sensor blade between a first surface of a first workpiece and a second surface of a second workpiece.

19. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 18 , wherein the computing system is configured to identify suitable shims to be inserted into a gap, probed by the sensor blade, by comparing dimensions of candidate shims to the separation distances at the measurement sites.

20. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 18 , wherein the computing system comprises a display and is configured to display an image of the separation distances at the measurement sites on the display.

21. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 18 , wherein the computing system and the receiving system are configured to communicate wirelessly.

22. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , further comprising a computing system that is operatively coupled to the receiving system, wherein:
the sensor blade, the transmitting system, and the receiving system are part of a handheld probe, and
the computing system is configured to wirelessly supply power to the handheld probe.

23. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving system is configured to generate separation distance signals based upon the response signals, wherein the separation distance signals are related to separation distances at the measurement sites of the sensor blade between a first surface of a first workpiece and a second surface of a second workpiece.

24. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitting system is configured to multiplex the transmitted probe signals by time-division multiplexing.

25. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving system is configured to receive at least one of the response signals for each of the reception induction coils.

26. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein each of the reception induction coils is individually electrically addressed by the receiving system.

27. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving system is configured to multiplex the response signals by time-division multiplexing.

28. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission induction coils are equal in number to the reception induction coils.

29. The electronic feeler gauge according to claim 1 , wherein the reception induction coils are interspersed among the transmission induction coils in the sensor blade.

30. The electronic feeler gauge according

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Safai Morteza
• McQueen Melissa

Classifications

• G01B7/001

  Constructional details of gauge heads (G01B7/012 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01B7/14 Primary

  for measuring distance or clearance between spaced objects or spaced apertures (G01B7/30 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01N27/904

  with two or more sensors · CPC title

• G01B7/10

  using magnetic means, e.g. by measuring change of reluctance · CPC title